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<TITLE>[Preface] What This Book Covers</TITLE>
<META NAME="author" CONTENT="John Zukowski">
<META NAME="date" CONTENT="Thu Jul 31 14:20:00 1997">
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<DIV CLASS=sect1>
<h2 CLASS=sect1><A CLASS="TITLE" NAME="JAWT-PREF-SECT-2">What This Book Covers</A></h2>

<P CLASS=para>
The <I CLASS=emphasis>Java AWT</I> <I CLASS=emphasis>Reference</I> 
is the definitive resource for programmers working with AWT. It covers 
all aspects of the AWT package, in versions 1.0.2 and 1.1. If there are any changes to AWT after 1.1 (at least two patch releases are expected), we will integrate them 
as soon as possible. Watch the book's Web site 
<A HREF="http://www.ora.com/catalog/javawt/">http://www.ora.com/catalog/javawt/</A> 
for details on changes. 

<P CLASS=para>
Specifically, this book completely covers the following packages: 

<DIV CLASS=simplelist>

<P>
<tt CLASS=literal>java.awt</tt> (1.0 and 1.1)<br>
<tt CLASS=literal>java.awt.image</tt> (1.0 and 1.1)<br>
<tt CLASS=literal>java.awt.event</tt> (new to 1.1)<br>
<tt CLASS=literal>java.awt.datatransfer</tt> (new to 1.1)<br>
<tt CLASS=literal>java.awt.peer</tt> (1.0 and 1.1)<br>
<tt CLASS=literal>java.applet</tt> (1.0 and 1.1)<br>
</DIV>

<P CLASS=para>
The book also covers some aspects of the <tt CLASS=literal>sun.awt</tt>
package (some interesting and useful layout managers) and the
<tt CLASS=literal>sun.audio</tt> package (some more flexible ways of
working with audio files). It also gives a brief overview of the
behind-the-scenes machinery for rendering images, much of which is in
the <tt CLASS=literal>sun.awt.image</tt> package.

<DIV CLASS=sect2>
<h3 CLASS=sect2><A CLASS="TITLE" NAME="JAWT-PREF-SECT-2.1">Organization</A></h3>

<P CLASS=para>
The <I CLASS=emphasis>Java AWT Reference</I> 
is divided into two large parts. The first part is a thorough guide to 
using AWT. Although this guide is organized by class, it was designed to 
flow logically, rather than alphabetically. I know that few people read 
a book like this from beginning to end, but if you want to, it's 
possible. With a few exceptions, you should be able to read the early chapters 
without knowing the material that's covered in the later chapters. 
You'll want to read this section to find out how any chunk of the 
AWT package works in detail. 

<P CLASS=para>
The second part is a set of documentation pages typical of what you find 
in most reference sets. It is organized alphabetically by package, and 
within each package, alphabetically by class. It is designed to answer 
questions like "What are the arguments to the <tt CLASS=literal>FilteredImageSource</tt> 
constructor?" The reference section provides brief summaries, rather 
than detailed discussions and examples. When you use a typical reference 
book, you're usually trying to look up some detail, rather than learn 
how something works from scratch. 

<P CLASS=para>
In other words, this book provides two views of AWT: terse summaries designed 
to help you when you need to look something up quickly, and much more detailed 
explanations designed to help you understand how to use AWT to the fullest. 
In doing so, it goes well beyond the standard reference manual. A reference 
manual alone gives you a great view of hundreds of individual trees; this 
book gives you the trees, but also gives you the forest that allows you 
to put the individual pieces in context. There are dozens of complete examples, 
together with background information, overview material, and other information 
that doesn't fit into the standard reference manual format. 

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